ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · club · snap · hand · band · degree · row · toast

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. band — a ring
  3. row — a line
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — bread
  12. band — a music group
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. hand — in cards
  15. club — for golf
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. snap — to click
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — help
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com